# NYS Smoke Nazi's strike again



## CBCyclone (Mar 21, 2007)

Don't how how many of you live in New York state, but at least one of these recent bouts of idiocy affects the entire state. One of them affects regions of the state (most notably the Western New York area and some other states as well. 

Here are the news articles on both of these latest attempts by the NYS Life Style Police to legislate you into good health:
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Wegman's to Stop Selling Cigarettes
For Release: 01-04-2008 
Contact Information:
Jo Natale, director of media relations 585-429-3627 

Rochester, NY – It was announced today that beginning Sunday, February 10, cigarettes and other tobacco products will no longer be sold at Wegman's. Until February 10, only remaining inventory will be available for sale; no new product will be ordered.

Explaining the decision CEO Danny Wegman said simply, "As a company, we respect a person's right to smoke, but we also understand the destructive role smoking plays in health." Signs posted in stores notifying customers of the decision express a similar sentiment. 

Jo Natale, Wegmans' director of media relations, acknowledged that tobacco is a 'very profitable category' for the company but did not share specific numbers.



Hoyt seeks tobacco ban for drugstores
Updated: 01/13/08 7:19 AM

NYS Assemblyman Sam Hoyt has introduced a bill in the State Assembly that would ban sales of tobacco products in pharmacies across the state. 
Th
e announcement by the Buffalo Democrat follows the decision by Wegman's Food Markets to discontinue sales of tobacco products. Hoyt called on Tops Food Markets and Wal-Mart to do the same. 

"In light of the overwhelming evidence of the harmful nature of cigarette smoking on one's health and the astronomical public health costs posed by tobacco products, it is contradictory and counterintuitive to sell such products in an establishment whose purpose is to provide remedies to health problems," Hoyt said. 

Convenience stores or stores that stock only nonprescription medications would not be affected by the bill, Hoyt said. 

A number of organizations endorsed the bill, including the American Lung Association of New York State, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and the Center for a Tobacco Free New York. 

"This legislation would help reduce the availability of dangerous tobacco products — especially to teens," said Michael Seilback, senior director of public policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association of New York State.
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The Wegman's ban doesn't only include New York. Wegman's has locations in PA, NJ, VA and MD as well. I'm still scratching my head over that one. They're banning tobacco sales at their stores but they sell beer and wine (which can lead to alcoholism, drunken driving, etc.), red meat (which has been said to be a cause of colon cancer), candy (which can cause obesity which in turn can affect your heart), etc., etc., etc.

Sam Hoyt's bill is just plain ridiculous. Since most major grocery stores and retail chains now have pharmacies (IE: Tops, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc. these would now be banned from selling tobacco products. The only place you'll be able to buy cigarettes will be convenience stores and gas stations. This is going WAY too far and somebody needs to reel in this insanity NOW!


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